One by One

by Freida McFadden

I turn around slowly, expecting to see Noah with that missing gun pointed at me. Or maybe Jack’s rifle. But it’s not Noah at all.

It’s Warner. He’s got Jack’s rifle pointed at me.

“Would you please put your hands in the air, Claire?” Warner says. “Otherwise you’ll end up like your friend over there.”

A chilling smile plays on Warner’s lips. “Well, I can’t entirely take credit.”

That’s when it all falls into place. Noah wanted revenge for my betrayal. But he couldn’t do it alone. He needed a partner in crime. Somebody to sneak off during the night and kill the man in the cabin while he was pretending to be sound asleep beside me. But how did Noah even know Warner? Unless he set it all up at the beginning. He gave poor Lindsay the meet-cute he knew she’d been hoping for, allowing this handsome man to infiltrate our lives. He even knew what zodiac sign Warner needed to be. It was too easy. “Let’s head back to the cabin,” Warner says calmly.

The first thing I see when I

walk into the living room is Noah. I expected him to have a gun in his hand, pointed at me. But instead, he’s sitting on the couch, his head down, his hands raised into the air like mine. Because somebody else is pointing a gun at his head.

Lindsay!”

but I did what I could to cheer her up. I didn’t plan what happened to Ted. Not exactly.

started dressing in more stylish clothing than the tomboy outfits my parents bought me because they always wanted a boy. I also finally managed to grow my hair out. It was amazing having long, silky hair instead of the severely short cut my mother always gave me in the upstairs bathroom.

Nobody knew we were sneaking off together—I certainly never told Claire.

Ted never returned from the lake that night. Claire was sad about Ted’s untimely death, but she moved on. She started dating Noah Matchett, the boy living next-door to us.

It was some

solace when her boyfriend was killed in a hit and run not long after.

I found that when you’re an attractive woman, it’s very easy to get a mechanic to replace your dented front fender w...

And before I knew it, his lips were on mine.

Can’t stop thinking about you. Can’t wait to see you tomorrow. Of course, there was only one conclusion I could draw. Claire was cheating on Noah.

It was despicable. They were despicable.

wanted to scratch her eyes out like I did to Bryan McCormick.

I met him years earlier, when he gave me some advice online about a poison that would never show up in an autopsy.

He was dangerous. But we still spoke every once in a while, and sometimes we got together for a little fun.

Like me, this wasn’t his first rodeo. Together, we made a plan. It started out with

a phony map and a knife that could carve a tree to look like animal claws.

“Lindsay,” I gasp. My best friend of over fifteen years raises her blue eyes to look at me. She’s got a small pistol in her

hand, and she’s aiming it at Noah’s head.

Lindsay waves her hand. “Those rumors are highly exaggerated.” “But you ate the deadly nightshade!” I cry.

told you those were blueberries, Claire. I know the difference—my mother used to grow them. You should have tried one. They were quite tasty.”

“It was quite a performance, wasn’t it? I think I missed my calling as an actress.”

“We watched YouTube videos of people having seizures as research,” Warner adds. “And I thought my chest compressions looked very realistic. I didn’t hurt you too badly, did I, babe?” Lindsay shakes her head. “Not at all.”

“You… you killed Jack?” I whisper. “No.” She nods at Warner. “He killed Jack. And the big gentleman who used to own the cabin. But I killed Michelle. And I’m going to kill you.”

My mouth falls open. I finally get it. Lindsay, my best friend, was the woman he kissed. I was screwing around with his best friend, so this was the ultimate revenge. But he never went through with it.

“You had it all. You had a great life with a perfect husband. If I knew you were going to screw it up, I never would’ve bothered to get rid of Ted.”

I’m never going to make it home. I’m never going to see Emma and Aidan again. They’re going to grow up without us.

She raises the gun and points it directly at Noah’s skull. I squeeze my eyes shut just as I hear a gunshot. No. No. This isn’t happening. I’m terrified to open my eyes and discover my husband lying on the sofa, a bullet hole in his head.

Then I hear a gurgling sound coming from the ground. I look down—Warner on the ground, gripping his neck, which is gushing blood. I stare down at him, my heart pounding. What just happened?

“Two people can’t keep a secret,” she says. “Not unless one of them is dead. It’s just a fact. I always work alone.”

She just killed him.

“So you get to be innocent victims. That’s your gift if you behave yourselves and don’t try anything funny.”

He gently turns me away from Lindsay so I don’t have to see the life drain out of her.

did Noah intend to bring Jack out to the woods and get him disoriented? Would Jack have suffered a stab wound while hiking?

Why ask a question that will threaten our newfound happiness together? Sometimes it’s better not to know.

I know Claire so well—it will eat at her. They think they fixed their marriage, but that magnet will destroy them. And they will finally get what they deserve.